Mr Frost said that after all the emotion and anxiety of recent years, the death of Pickering last night was a "bitter pill to swallow".

"Pickering was 80 years old and, believe me, we had questioned what would happen if he just dies," he said. "When the police rang me this morning, I just kind of lost it.

"I think there will be some angry, upset and annoyed people in Wakefield who have completed support us. It will be difficult for them too."

Thanking all those who had given support to the family, he said he hoped they would find some comfort in the police having named Pickering as their prime suspect.

"It's a big thing for us," he said. "There have been a lot of people still who have pointed the finger in the wrong direction. Hopefully they will see that [police comment] and they will understand we did have Elsie's murdered but we've not been able to go through the full process in court.

"We've remained happy with the way that the investigation has gone and supportive of West Yorkshire Police, but again we want to just thank everybody who has been constantly remembering Elsie for their support. We just didn't quite get there in the end."

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